


Sword of Lies

by Smokey310



Category: Original Work
Genre: Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Dreams, F/F, Fantasy, Gen, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Swords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 14:30:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18075176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokey310/pseuds/Smokey310
Summary: Lou is the Wielder of the Sword of Lies and unbeaten Champion of Gardiel. But nobody knows that the only reason she always sees through the Soul Swords' Imagos is a certain Sabehy girl who has appeared in her dreams ever since she became a Duelist. So what happens when one day, that girl suddenly begins to exist in Lou's real life? Will she be able to tell dream from reality and maintain her status as the unbeaten Champion? And just what is that mysterious Dream Girl planning anyway?





	Sword of Lies

**Author's Note:**

> It's been two years since I last posted an update for my fanfictions and now I'm suddenly back with an original story. I'm so sorry to everyone still waiting for updates. I've tried and tried, but my head is simply done with fandom stuff. I wish I would, but I find no joy in it anymore. I hope you can forgive me and maybe, hopefully, I can interest you in this fantasy epos about lesbians and swords instead? 
> 
> Also, if anyone is down to beta this beast, I would be forever thankful!

The heels of her shoes echoed through the wide hallways in a terrible cacophony of clackityclacks, somehow faster than her feet were moving, sounding like a rabid little purse dog in equally steep shoes was chasing her heels.

But nothing was chasing her. She was running towards something. Something very important.

Crumpled up in her hands she held the seam of her wedding dress, trying to get it out of the way of her moving feet. The dress was stealing all of her breath away, which was strange, since she never thought a corset would find much to confine on her. But she was wheezing like an asthmatic cat trying to disgorge a hairball.

 _Crap_ , she thought. _I must look like shit. Here comes the bride – run while you still can._

The blonde hair greasily clung to her wet forehead and her make-up was smudged by her own sweat – she hoped that she wouldn’t run past a mirror and scare herself to death. But it didn’t look like an interior designer had ever set foot into this mansion. The walls were completely blank. No pictures, no fancy tapestry. Just the same boring gold wallpaper all over the place.

As soon as she thought it, the scenery changed and she almost stumbled up a couple of stairs that had appeared before her.

No, not just a couple. A never-ending set of stairs, it seemed. Except, if she squinted her eyes and blinked the tears of sweat away, she could make out a huge grandfather clock at the far end of the stairs, ticking so loud that her ears were ringing.

“Shut up!” she yelled at the clock, but its simple answer was to tick faster. “For fuck’s sake!”

Cursing didn’t help with the shortness of her breath, but it still made her feel better. “Stupid asshole, making me marry him. I don’t even want to get married,” she muttered, pulling the wedding dress higher so she wouldn’t break her feet running up the stairs. “I’m only going there to scream ‘no’ at his face in front of everyone!” she hissed at the disinterested clock. 

Truthfully – she didn’t mean that. Knox was her best friend and she knew that standing in front of the altar all alone with a whole room full of people watching him was giving him bad anxiety. He was probably just a few deep breaths away from collapsing. And it was all her fault. How the hell did she manage to be late for her own wedding?

The clock at the end of the stairs had somehow grown in size and it was hovering just out of reach. She would have loved to punch its stupid grandfather-like face. _Hurry up_ , it seemed to say. _You’re late late late late late._

With an ugly cry and the sound of fabric ripping she fell, bruising her knee at the edge of the stairs. Another cascade of curses left her lips as she fought her way back onto her feet, kicking off the stupid high heels. She had never even worn heels before. Why would she get married in them?

“Shut uuuuup!”

The clock didn’t care how much she screamed, it just kept ticking louder and faster. She closed her eyes, imagined Knox repressing an anxiety attack in front of everyone. Imagined the ticking to be his heartbeat. She knew she never should have started to care about people. It only made one’s life miserable.

“I’m on my way!” she said to no one in particular. The words didn’t even leave her lips – nothing but a hoarse croak left her lips anymore. 

Some eternities later, somehow, after three more falls and a lot of angry tears, the stairs finally stopped and she stood in front of the huge clock that was still ticking, a wide grin spread across its face. More hallways led deeper into the mansion. One to her left, one to her right.

“Which way now?” she asked the clock. The stupid thing didn’t suddenly decide to be helpful, of course, so she had to improvise. It was a quarter past three in the afternoon, both clock hands were pointing to the right. 

“You better be right,” she grumbled, collecting her wedding dress in her arms once more. It was ripped to pieces, but she didn’t really care anymore. If only she hadn’t refused the veil. Her only hope was that Knox would be so relieved to finally see her bursting into the room that he didn’t notice her mess of a face.

Every breath was pure pain, but she soldiered on, one more hallway without an end in sight, running towards nothing but darkness. Even though the constant ticking was her only company she lost track of time completely. It felt like she had run through these hallways for all of her life. She couldn’t remember ever doing anything else.

Something flashed before her eyes for a moment and she hesitated, almost stumbling over her own feet in the process. She really _couldn’t_ remember anything but running. That was weird, wasn’t it?

Again, a flash before her eyes caught her attention and she noticed that it was no longer just darkness when she looked down the hallway. There, at the end of the horizon, she could make out a pair of huge double doors. 

“No way,” she cried. The relief was almost palpable. It came with a sudden new burst of energy, which she used to run the last few steps towards the doors. 

Now that she was at the finish line, she hesitated again. How did she even know that this was it? The mansion was so huge, this could be any room. And yet, she was sure – she knew that behind these doors, Knox was waiting for her.

Waiting to be… her groom

“This is so wrong,” she said to herself. “I can’t marry _Knox_!”

There was a prominent Gardielian saying that went like this: “A knot in my throat, a stone in my stomach and a spirit in my brain.” Well, she felt all of these making her turn around against her will, taking a sudden step away from the door. 

“Sorry, Knox,” she mouthed, walking farther away. But someone on the other side must have heard her steps, because the doors suddenly opened with a creak and she could hear the expectant whispers coming out of the room. 

_Shit!_

She had no choice but to turn around, even if her whole body was fighting against it. She would get out of this somehow – she always got out of everything and this would be no exception. It was something like her super power.

 _Think!_ , she urged herself. _Think quickly!_

The whispers grew louder as she took a deep breath and waltzed into the room with faked energy. No music saved her awkward entrance, but she kept her head held high, trying to forget about how she looked in her torn wedding dress and smudged mascara. Knox was standing at the end of the aisle; shoulders hunched and face retreating into his beard, as usual. He was still the tallest person in the room. While she walked towards him, he perked up a little. She almost thought she could make out a little smile behind his dark beard.

A smile? On Knox?

Something was seriously wrong here! She tried to approach carefully and when she finally reached him, left a bigger distance between them than a couple about to get married probably would.

“You came!” he said, relief tinting every syllable. “I thought…”

“Got lost,” she interrupted, her manners as refined as usual. “Took a wrong turn searching for the toilet. Are you alright?”

“I’m alright now”, he smiled, reaching for her hand. Instinctively, she took a step back, out of reach. Her sweat was turning cold. This Knox was just _so_ wrong. A voice suddenly boomed through the room, but this time she knew that it was no coincidence. Every time she got suspicious about something, weird things started happening to distract her. A real rookie mistake. Still, she was a professional, so she had to make sure.

“We are all gathered here today…” the voice boomed. She blended it out and scanned the front row instead.

Just a few feet away, she spotted her twin brother. Blond locks, sparkling eyes, a smile like he was bursting from joy – he didn’t strike her as weird, so her gaze wandered to the next person over. Lean, mean and boring. Her brother’s best friend Lind looked just as usual, too. Next to Lind sat Cassi, Knox’ little sister. She was sitting at the edge of the bench, excitedly chewing on her lower lip. Her long, black hair was put into a complicated braid – probably Knox’ doing.

They all seemed to behave normally. Was Knox the only person invoking such a weird feeling in her? Like he was somehow not himself? Or was it just the nervousness? Was she so set on not wanting to marry that she was looking for any excuse? But if this whole thing was real, then where was her mother? Where were Knox’ parents?

Her eyes moved over the rest of the crowd, until they met a specific person’s and in that moment she knew.

“Thank God,” she whispered, smiling for the first time since this ordeal began. The girl she had spotted in the crowd smiled back. She was sitting three rows behind family and friends, but her brown Sabehy skin and hair stood out from all the other bland faces. While everyone else was dressed nicely, the Sabehy girl just wore the same dark Purple Wielder uniform she always wore.

This was her Dream Girl. 

She didn’t know why exactly, but for years now that girl appeared in her dreams, so every time she saw her, she knew that whatever was happening around her - it wasn’t real.

“Lou! Answer the voice! Are you really going to ignore me, after you left me standing here all alone?” fake-Knox accused theatrically. A last attack on her subconscious, but it was too late. 

“Don’t be such a drama queen. It’s an insult to the real you,” she countered, pressing her eyes together and invoking a burning feeling in her chest. When she opened her eyes again there was a sword handle sticking out of her chest, as if she had just been stabbed with it.

Grinning, she took the handle, pulling her Soul Sword out of her dream-self. 

“Wait, don’t-“ fake-Knox cried, right before she swung her sword and cut his head off with one clean swipe.

“I told you, it’s an insult!” 

There was no blood and bones – Knox simply turned into a cloud of black dust and left her standing alone at the altar. 

One more look into the crowd showed her Dream Girl laughing and clapping excitedly, then the scene blurred before her eyes. 

First, there was nothing. Then, she could hear the noise of a crowd again – except this time, it was a loud one. There was singing and chattering, there was an announcer telling stories about past challenges, except no one was really listening to him. And when she finally opened her eyes and began to get up, the crowd went completely wild. Feet stomping, shrill whistles excited yelling and applause accompanied her getting up. 

Through the fog of sand and dust, she could make out a body lying next to hers. It was unconscious and would stay so for a while – she had just beaten this guy in a Duel.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” the announcer yelled proudly. “I present – the unbeaten Champion of Gardiel: Balou Ellerie Bernardin!”

Lou turned to the crowd, materializing her soul sword once again and ripping it out of her chest to point towards the sky. 

Thank God that was over with. She couldn’t believe that asshole was trying to marry her off to her best friend. Her brother and Lind would tease her endlessly if they ever heard about it. 

Now she just had to evade everyone trying to snatch the winner of the Duel away for a quick interview, and if she was lucky, she would soak in her bathtub in about a half hour, drowning the sound of imaginary wedding bells in a tub of warm, fruity soap bubbles.


End file.
